The import of hunting trophies into the EU must be stopped, argue the NGOs Humane Society International/Europe, Pro Wildlife, Born Free Foundation, Eurogroup for Animals and Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, in a report published on Wednesday 12 October.
It shows how the recreational killing of threatened and protected animals for trophies undermines the EU’s efforts to achieve its ambitions to better protect wildlife and halt biodiversity loss.
NGOs are calling on the EU to take action to ban the import of hunting trophies of threatened and protected species, as requested by the European Parliament ahead of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES COP19, Panama, 14-25 November) (see EUROPE 13036/8).
The top five EU Member States importing mammal hunting trophies are Germany, Spain, Denmark, Austria and Sweden.
Despite its ambition in its Biodiversity Strategy 2030, “the EU continues to be the second largest importer of hunting trophies in the world. It is only a tiny minority of wealthy European citizens who choose to travel to other countries to kill endangered or threatened species for their own twisted pleasure”, said Dr Joanna Swabe, Senior Director of Public Affairs for the Humane Society International/Europe.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/3ku (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)